The video also provides a quick overview of Index-Linked Annuity Payment Adjustment Riders (ILAPAs). These riders increase scheduled annuity payments (up to an annual maximum of 5 percent) whenever the S&P 500 Index rises over a 12-month period. If the S&P 500 Index experiences a negative or zero return, there is no reduction in scheduled payment amounts. The video is under 3 minutes and well worth watching. Pacific Life also has a booklet on fee structuring that provides more detailed information.Continue Reading

Successfully negotiating a monetary settlement in an on-the-job injury, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour or other employment-related claim is the responsibility of all parties — both defense and plaintiff. If the litigation involves a physical injury, the settlement must insure that the injured worker can pay for day-to-day living expenses until able to return to work — or, when life-changing damages occur — to enable injured parties and their families to have enough funds to last a lifetime.Continue Reading

Powerball Jackpot $1.6 billion jackpot prompted Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban to offer words of advice to those who suddenly become millionaires. Here's how it apply to them and structured settlement recipients.Continue Reading

What happens when a young person, say in their early 20s, suddenly receives more money than they could ever imagine? Most likely, they'll spend it until there is nothing left. That's what happened to former NFL player Clinton Portis.Continue Reading

Details are important when it comes to structured settlements. So is timing. Counting down, here is the top 10 list of things to remember when creating a structure – for your client or for your legal fees.Continue Reading

It's time to welcome incoming 2016 CAALA officers and congratulate the annual CAALA award recipients. All will be honored during CAALA’s 67th Annual Installation and Awards Dinner Dance on January 16.Continue Reading

Some injured parties may be hesitant to agree to a long-term structured settlement because of the current relatively low yields of the structure’s underlying investments. They may worry that by locking in yields of around 2.63 percent for 10, 20, 30 years or longer, they will not be able to take advantage of higher interest rates in the future.Continue Reading

Bloomberg.com recently told of the plight of Alicia Munnell, a Harvard Ph.D., former member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors and two-decade veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Munnell, now age 72, made a series of poor financial decisions that has her wondering if she’ll have enough money to live on when she eventually retires. A recent article on Bloomberg.com recently told of the plight of Alicia Munnell, a Harvard Ph.D., former member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors and two-decade veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Munnell, now age 72, made a series of poor financial decisions that has her wondering if she’ll have enough money to live on when she eventually retires. Her biggest mistake was to pull from her retirement savings to pay for things she wanted now.Continue Reading

A recent article in the Washington Post discussed the plight of children poisoned by lead paint found in abundance in the poorer neighborhoods of Baltimore. One of those children was Freddie Gray, the young man who died while in police custody. Children would absorb lead by eating paint chips or breathing paint dust [...]

A recent Time magazine article (“Inside the Next Social Security Crisis,” August 3, 2015) noted that many older women are finding that their Social Security benefits are not enough to make ends meet.Continue Reading